Router Magic: Jigs, Fixtures, and Tricks to Unleash Your Router's Full Potential (Paperback)

~ Bill Hylton (Author) "Catch layout marks in your router's crosshairs to plunge-bore on-target holes..." (more)
Key Phrases: router magic, cutting list, split fence, Floor-Standing Router Table, Baltic Birch, Cutting Threads (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

With a handful of standard bits and extraordinary jigs, fixtures, and techniques, this book shows everything from planing boards to making fluted dowels, crafting flawless cope-and-stick joints, and creating amazing spiral-beaded columns and finials.

About the Author

Bill Hylton has been writing about woodworking for more than 20 years and is the coauthor of Woodworking with the Router, which has sold more than 140,000 copies. He lives in Kempton, Pennsylvania.

Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing (March 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0762101857
• ISBN-13: 978-0762101856
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #278,641 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

108 of 108 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good companion to "Woodworking with the Router", December 8, 2000

By	Michael H. Young (ILLINOIS, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bill Hylton's first router book, "Woodworking with the Router", is a tough act to follow, apparently even for the original author. Where the "Woodworking with..." book is a discussion of routers, routing, woodworking, and problem solving using the router, this edition is, as its title suggests, a collection of the jigs and fixtures discussed and illustrated throughout the earlier collection. The emphasis here is answering your question of "how can I build a flumfungwoozle to do XYZ?"; it presumes you already perceived the need for the flumfungwoozle. The first volume starts on the other side of the problem: "How can I do XYZ?", and presents the flumfungwoozle along with other ways it can be done. (I hope that makes sense.) Given this difference in organization, the "Router Magic..." book is more suited to the advanced woodworker, while "Woodworking with...", I think, is suitable for all levels.

I own both. I read "Woodworking with..." for fun and for inspiration, and then maybe refer to "Router Magic..." to see other variants of how else something might be done. I would recommend both, but "Woodworking with..." gets the nod if you only intend to get one or the other. In either case, beginners should start there, instead of here, for the basic why's, what's, how's and everything else.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good router table plans, and jigs!, January 1, 2003

By	cabby (Jacksonville, FL United States) - See all my reviews

The router table plans are worth the price of admission. Simple design, instructions and operation. And, just to show us all that no one's perfect, he included a photograph of some "pot metal" he broke while tapping an existing hole in a router base. The technique for assembling the router table also serves as an excellent instrucional guide on how to build a counter top and apply and properly trim laminate. It won't make you an expert overnight, but when you're done with the router table, you'll feel more confident about building and laminating countertops. Lot's of other small gems throughout the book. Highly recommend to beginners and intermediate woodworkers.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must-read for all levels of routists., December 12, 2001

By	Iddgit (Columbus OH) - See all my reviews

While the jigs do require attention to detail to get the most use out of, certainly most of them could be made a bit sloppily and still be worth an attempt. I've made about 6 or 7 and use them regularly. (No, I did not make the turning jig at the end...and I'm positive I never will...although, I keep saying I don't want a lathe and that might be a solution!)

The book does not cover things like "what kind of bits should I buy at first" and "what do I do if I run my router bit through my aluminum t-slot". It's a book about using jigs to solve your problems and to make using a router safer and more effecient. If you own a router and know how to make even bad cuts with it, you should read this through and find ways to make your life easier.

Anyway, just keep in mind that you don't need to make all of the jigs here to get started. Just make the 2 or 3 basic ones (all of which take less than a weekend to make--usually 4-8 hours once you have the materials) and make the others as you need them. Again, it may be a bit intimidating at first read, but all of the details are there and after a second read of a jig, they will come to life for you.

He hit the router table design right on the head. Great design, I stole some components and added them to my existing clunker to make it more useful. When I accidentally run over it with my truck in a few months, I'm planning to build his almost exactly as detailed.

(No I don't know the author...I'd have to pull my copy off my workbench to check his name.)